


You're Not Alone

by puppydragons



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-03-30 11:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3934618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppydragons/pseuds/puppydragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Clarke's only friend dies in a car accident, she is left to fend for herself against her bullies who out her to her crush, Lexa. She develops a surprising relationship with the popular softball player and together they change each other's lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have already written several chapters of this fic, so expect updates soon. For any other fic requests or questions, visit my tumblr: puppydragons.tumblr.com

Clarke walked tentatively to her usual corner in the lunchroom. She was still not quite used to being completely alone. Wells had been her best friend since elementary school. In high school, he had been her only friend. They had been the sole members of the high school's chess club. Now, even the chess club would be gone because of him. He had passed away a week prior in a car accident. It was hard to think that she would never see him again. She pushed the macaroni around her plate, finding it harder than usual to stomach the cafeteria's food.

 

Clarke scanned the lunchroom, noticing the usual cliques gathered at their favored lunch tables. Her eyes rested on a group of softball players, one in particular catching her eye. She watched, mesmerized, as the girl ran a hand through her long, curly hair. A flash of green glanced in her direction and she quickly averted her eyes, pretending to be suddenly fascinated by her lunch. Clarke felt her cheeks flush and she hoped her gaze hadn't been noticed. She had had a crush on Lexa the softball pitcher since freshman year, but she was pretty sure the popular girl didn't even know that she existed. She was faintly reminded of how Wells used to tease her about her feelings for the attractive girl. He was just about the only person she trusted to tell about her feelings, but now he was gone.

 

Clarke sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Cage and his friends approaching her from the other side of the cafeteria. Knowing how he liked to make fun of her, she quickly got up and dumped the remainders of her lunch in the trash. She headed for the exit doors.

 

“Hey Clarke!” she heard him yell and she sprinted out of the cafeteria into the nearest girl's bathroom. Clarke hid there for the remainder of the lunch hour, waiting until she heard the last bell for class before she headed out. She would be late for class, but at least she would be safe from Cage.

 

She slid surreptitiously into her seat. Her teacher's back was turned as he wrote out sentences on the chalkboard.

 

“You're late, Ms. Griffin,” he said, not turning around.

 

“I'm sorry, Mr. Kane.”

 

“I expect better from you. Detention, after school today.”

 

“Ooh, BURN! Little miss goody two shoes got DETENTION!” Cage hooted, his friends making loud animal noises along with him.

 

“Quiet, Mr. Wallace. Now please turn to page 52...”

 

The rest of her classes for the day were uneventful. Clarke prided herself in being a good student. She was attentive in class, did her homework, and studied her best for exams. This drew negative attention from her peers however, and she was picked on for being a “nerd,” especially by Cage.

 

She had always been one of Kane's favorite students, so she wasn't surprised when the detention he gave her turned out to be cleaning the art room. She knew that meant she was free to spend the time painting. Art was one of her few passions, and the school's art studio was her sanctuary. She was one of the few students who used the room regularly and her paintings lining the walls stood testament to that fact. She picked out a new canvas she had prepared the previous week and started sketching. She wanted to make something dedicated to Wells. She hoped that at least through art she could somewhat begin to cope with her grief.

 

The door clicked open. Expecting it to be Mr. Kane, she didn't look up. More footsteps filing in drew her attention.

 

“Well well well, what do we have here. Clarke the art geek in her natural environment,” Cage smirked.

 

Clarke didn't even feel her pencil slip through her fingers in her surprise. It clattered loudly on the floor. She swallowed, realizing she was cornered.

 

“This place looks like your personal studio,” Cage continued, pacing the room, “I didn't know the school was establishing Clarke Griffin: The Collection.”

 

His four other friends snickered at his comments.

 

“So where's your little friend to save you now, Clarke? Oh right, he's dead. HA!”

 

“You can mock the living, but not the dead,” Clarke found herself saying before she knew it, her hands balling up into fists.

 

Cage whistled, “Someone's got a hot streak that needs to be broken. Hey Clarke, I heard your detention was to clean the art room,” he knocked over one of her paintings and stepped on it, bending the canvas,

 

“Oops. Don't worry, we'll make sure you have quite the mess to clean up. Right, boys?” Cage nodded to his friends and they started trashing the art room, snapping her paintings in half and spilling whatever art supplies they could find onto the ground.

 

“NO!” Clarke cried, jumping in the way in an attempt to stop them, but they only knocked her aside.

 

“What's this?” Cage pulled out a small painting from behind a shelf. “Is this who I think it is?”

 

Clarke rushed to grab the painting from his hands, but he lifted it up over her head, just out of reach. “That's personal!” she yelled at him.

 

Cage raised his eyebrows, “Well who would have known, not only is Clarke Griffin an art nerd, but she's also got a thing for Lexa!”

 

“Give it back!” she growled, jumping for the painting.

 

“Sorry princess, finders keepers,” Cage tossed the painting to one of his friends, “I think softball practice is still going on right now. Why don't we share this _masterpiece_ with the subject you were painting? I'm sure she'll be very pleased to see it.”

 

“No...” Clarke protested weakly, knowing it was no use. They knocked her to the floor again when she lunged for the painting one last time.

 

“Make sure she doesn't get out of here until this place is _sparkling_ , Emerson,” Cage instructed one of his friends. They made their way out of the room and he slammed the door behind him. Clarke pawed at the door desperately, but Emerson was making sure she couldn't get out of the room. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Her artwork had been destroyed and she had been humiliated. Her feelings for Lexa were also out of the closet, and she would probably be teased even more for it. She missed Wells more than ever and couldn't bear the thought of ever facing Lexa in school anymore. She curled into a ball and cried for what seemed like ages before she finally got up and started cleaning up the mess.

 

Almost two hours later, she had managed to clean up most of the mess Cage and his friends had made in the room. She had just begun salvaging the remains of her paintings when the door swung open. Clarke looked up indignantly, expecting the return of Cage, but instead was met with a swish of long, brown hair.

 

Sweaty from practice, Lexa gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight. She was in front of Clarke in two long strides, a painting clutched between her firm hands. “I believe this belongs to you,” she handed it over gingerly.

 

Clarke closed her mouth, which she was suddenly hyperaware had been hanging open. She struggled to form a word of thanks.

 

“It's beautiful,” Lexa continued. Clarke met the softball player's green eyes, which were warm with sincerity. “Is that really how you see me?”

 

Clarke was only able to nod in response.

 

Lexa looked around the room. “I hate how Cage thinks he can get away with anything just because his dad is the principal.” She began picking up the remnants of some of Clarke's paintings.

 

Clarke pinched herself, needing to double check that she wasn't dreaming. Lexa, THE Lexa Heda, had just praised her painting and was helping her clean the art studio. Her heart was pounding and her mind was going blank.

 

They finished collecting the pieces of Clarke's paintings for the next ten minutes or so in silence. Lexa had defaulted to her usual cool and reserved personality, the expression on her face unreadable. Clarke was unsure of what to say when they were finished. She somehow managed to squeeze out some apologies and words of thanks.

 

“Why don't we exchange phone numbers? You can give me a call if Cage ever gives you trouble.”

 

Clarke almost dropped her phone as she fumbled with it. Not in her wildest dreams could Clarke have imagined Lexa asking for her phone number. They walked out of the school together.

 

“I guess I'll see you around?” Clarke said stiffly, giving the other girl an awkward wave before unlocking her bicycle.

 

“I could give you a ride home,” Lexa offered.

 

Clarke shook her head, “I'll be fine. I don't live far.” Clarke was pretty sure she had used up all the luck she had in her life. She finally believed that there was such thing as too much of a good thing. She was pretty sure if she followed Lexa into her car, she would never want to leave it.

 

Lexa gave her a smile and wave as she pedaled onto the sidewalk, “Bye, Clarke!”

 

“She actually knows my name!” Clarke's thoughts were suddenly racing again as she pedaled away from Lexa. “And I have her number! And she was really nice to me! This can't be happening!”

 

Clarke could never have imagined the two of them meeting and talking to each other under such circumstances, never mind that Lexa was so friendly and caring underneath her cool exterior. Even with Cage around, maybe she could still survive the rest of her senior year after all.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Have you heard? Clarke is totally gay for Lexa!”

 

Clarke internally groaned, the reactions from her classmates were just what she had expected. Why did her first class of the day have to be gym?

 

“Ew, I bet she's totally checking us out right now!”

 

The girls shielded their bodies with their clothes, eyeing her with disgust. Clarke resisted the urge to glare at them, not wanting to add anymore fuel to the fire.

 

One of the girls sauntered over to her. Clarke recognized her as a girl named Harper. “Like, if you're a lesbian and want a piece of this, shouldn't you change in the boys' locker room?”

 

Clarke turned her head away and rolled her eyes. She was actually bisexual, but she doubted they cared about that technicality.

 

Harper stepped closer to her, arms crossed. Clarke noticed Harper's friends advancing on her, and she took a step back nervously. She suddenly realized that they were actually serious about kicking her out of the locker room. Her eyes darted around for an exit, knowing that she would probably have to make a run for it.

 

Just as the girls formed a circle around her, a locker door slammed loudly behind Harper.

 

“If you're not out in a minute, the Coach will make you do laps,” a familiar voice deadpanned.

 

“Shit,” the girls swore, scrambling back to their lockers.

 

Clarke's heart pounded. Lexa was standing no more than three feet away, eyeing her with her typical expressionless face.

 

“I'll see you in class, Clarke.” She left before Clarke could even thank her.

 

They had gym class together with their gym teacher, Coach Indra. She also coached the softball team and was known for being both a tough coach and tough teacher. There were even rumors that she was ex-military. They would be playing dodgeball for the day, one of Clarke's least favorite gym class activities. To add to the stakes, Indra had stated that the losing team would have to do three laps around the track.

 

Lexa and a football player named Bellamy were chosen as the team captains. Like usual, Clarke was one of the last people picked for a team. She was glad to be on Lexa's team, but wary of the fact that Cage was on the opposing one. She retreated to the corner of the gym as soon as Indra blew her whistle.

 

After some of the more courageous players were taken out, Indra called on Clarke to participate in the game. She sighed dejectedly and picked up a ball that rolled her way. She moved towards the middle of the room. She threw and missed. She was never much of an athlete and had always preferred academic classes.

 

Cage and his friends took the opportunity to target her and she was pelted with at least ten balls at once. She had shielded herself with her arms expecting the worst, but one ball still managed to knock the wind out of her and she doubled over.

 

“Griffin! You're in the way! Get to the sidelines immediately!” Indra barked at her and she crawled her way out of the game.

 

Cage snickered and mimicked Clarke's expressions from when she had been hit. Though still glassy-eyed, Clarke noticed a blur headed in his direction. A ball collided with his nose and he collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.

 

His friends laughed at his misfortune uproariously. Clarke traced the arc of the throw and located its source: Lexa, who was wearing a self-satisfied smirk. Her legendary throwing arm was truly something to be reckoned with.

 

“Wallace! What is the problem? You were hit, now get out of the game!” Indra commanded.

 

“Coach...” Cage's hand was pressed to his nose, “I'm bleeding!”

 

“Then get to the nurse's office!” Indra was unsympathetic.

 

More people laughed, pleased by Cage's misfortune, as he hobbled out of the gym. Clarke noticed Lexa glance in her direction discreetly and the blonde shot the softball player a thumbs up. Lexa simply nodded in return, her face quickly returning to its usual solemn state.

 

There were many hushed whispers Clarke overheard for the rest of the morning, but no one bothered her like in gym class. She saw Lexa again in the one other class they shared together, biology.

 

They would be starting a new project and working in the library for the day. Their teacher, Dr. Tsing, announced it would be a partnered project. Clarke groaned. She hated partnered projects. No one ever actually wanted to work with her, and even if they did, they just expected her to do the entire assignment herself.

 

As the rest of the class partnered up, Clarke noticed that one of Lexa's softball friends was absent for the class, making their group odd numbered. The three girls were discussing who would partner with who when Lexa gestured in Clarke's direction. Clarke's eyebrows shot up in surprise before Lexa stalked her way over to her.

 

“Clarke, I don't suppose you have a partner?”

 

“You can be mine, if you want.” That came out a lot smoother than she expected, and Clarke felt her face flush. There were murmurs around the classroom. This was going to be one hell of a long day.

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke found herself sitting across from Lexa in the corner of the library, a stack of books about mitochondria by their side. Had it been a week ago, she would have found this scenario impossible to imagine, let alone actually happen.

 

Clarke's heart was beating so loudly she could hardly hear Lexa's hushed tones as she spoke to her.

 

Lexa was a serious and diligent worker. They split up the assignment evenly and had decided to meet after school at the public library the following day to finish up the project.

 

Having finished what they needed to do during class time, they found themselves with spare time left in the period. They eyed each other in silence, tension filling the air. Clarke froze up, her mind blanking out on what to say. She internally panicked, hoping Lexa wouldn't notice.

 

“I'm sorry about Wells. He was your friend, wasn't he?” Lexa broke the silence.

 

Clarke nodded, feeling her stomach drop at the mention of his name.

 

Lexa changed the subject perceptively, “How are your other friends?”

 

Clarke gulped, feeling somewhat shameful as she admitted, “I don't have any.”

 

“What about...” Lexa paused, searching for a name, “Raven?”

 

Clarke thought her eyebrows might shoot through the roof. She hadn't spoken to Raven since freshman year, when they had both discovered that they were dating the same guy. She was floored that Lexa had paid enough attention to her to remember who she had been friends with during freshman year, but then again, she had only ever had a total of two friends in high school. She was certain that most people in her grade hadn't even known that she existed until Cage decided to out her.

 

Clarke mused over her thoughts when the bell interrupted them. The two girls gathered their things and headed off to lunch.

 

“I'll see you around, Clarke,” Lexa said to her as they parted at the library's entrance. Clarke nodded in response, her head in the clouds before she came to the realization that she would have to deal with Cage and his cronies at lunch. She decided she would take a different course of action for the day.

 

Clarke stopped by a vending machine, purchasing some crackers and gummies before heading to the art studio. Once there, she locked the door securely behind her and retreated to a corner of the room. For once she wasn't going to put up with anyone teasing her.

 

Clarke found her thoughts drifting as she munched on the snacks that served as her lunch. Lexa's mention of her former friend sparked Clarke's memories. Looking back at her freshman year, their squabble over Finn seemed incredibly immature in hindsight. She made her up mind that she would try to apologize to and reconnect with Raven.

 

Cage's booming voice, echoing down the hall broke her reverie. “Girls can't be engineers!”

 

“Shut up, Cage! And leave me alone.” Raven's defiant voice rang clearly.

 

A series of footsteps clomped loudly down the hall, echoing off the walls. They shouted more insults at each other before Cage threatened that he was going to “get her” and the pace of the footsteps broke into runs.

 

Clarke unlocked the door to the art studio, daring to sneak out one blue eye through the cracks to see what was going on. Raven's form cast a shadow down her hall as the other girl paused to decide which direction she would be heading towards.

 

It was now or never, Clarke stuck a hand out and gestured towards the art studio. Raven arched a brow quizzically but didn't waste time in deciding to trust her. She ducked into the room and Clarke locked the door behind her.

 

The two of them slumped to the ground in the corner of the room in silence.

 

Cage's shouts continued to echo down the halls, growing weaker as his friends joined him. “Where did she go? Find her!”

 

“Clarke?” Raven broke the silence when it finally seemed like they were safe.

 

“Raven,” Clarke felt her words catch in her throat. “I'm sorry.”

 

“Don't be,” Raven laughed, “He was a dick.”

 

Clarke couldn't help cracking a smile, their usual banter falling into place, “So have you talked to him since then?”

 

“Not since freshman year.”

 

“Same here.”

 

“We were so stupid,” they both said at the same time, breaking into laughter.

 

They chatted for the rest of the lunch period, catching up with each other's lives. Raven was taking Calculus III at their local community college and working part time as a car mechanic. She still wanted to be an engineer, just like how Clarke still wanted to be an artist. They talked about being teased by Cage. He picked on Raven just like he picked on Clarke for being different.

 

Clarke told Raven about how Cage and his friends had trashed her paintings.

 

“One of these days, that dipshit is gonna to pay for messing with people,” Raven said vengefully.

 

On their way to class, Clarke recounted the dodgeball incident in gym class much to Raven's delight. She asked Clarke to meet her at the computer lab after school. Clarke agreed and they went their separate ways. She stepped into English class with renewed energy to deal with Cage and his friends.

 

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. She found out that Cage hadn't broken his nose, but was still taking out his anger on everyone else to make up for his sour mood.

 

Like they had agreed, Clarke met with Raven after school in the computer lab.

 

“Let me introduce you to Monty and Jasper,” Raven gestured towards the only two other students who occupied the room.

 

Jasper waved, “Look who's back! And she brought a friend!”

 

Monty didn't look up from his computer screen. “I presume you're here to try and convince me to join the Academic Decathalon. My answer is still no.”

 

“Look, Monty. We just need you for the math section.”

 

“And exactly why can't you just recruit Jasper? He seems pretty eager to join.”

 

“Because you're the best at math in our grade, besides me that is,” Raven pleaded exasperatedly, “Look, I wouldn't be here if the Coach hadn't begged me to come.”

 

“There are going to be two cute girls in the club!” Jasper joined Raven's side, “Right?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” Clarke decided to play along, amused at their banter.

 

“I have the computer club to lead, and besides, who joins the Academic Decathalon for girls?”

 

“There are only two members in the computer club, Monty. It's just you and Jasper. You can get awards to put on your transcript with the Academic Decathalon.”

 

“I already got early acceptance from MIT, I don't need anything more for my transcript.”

 

“Fine, I'll come back again tomorrow.”

 

“And bring more girls!” Jasper shouted at them.

 

Raven rolled her eyes and Clarke had to hold back her giggling.

 

Raven gave Clarke a ride home in her car, it was on the way to her job. They said their goodbyes, and Clarke retreated to her empty house.

 

After her dad had died three years ago, it had been just her and her mom. Her mother had taken on a lot of extra shifts at the hospital since then, so she found herself home alone most of the time.

 

She plopped down onto her bed. It had really been a long day. With Lexa still fresh in her mind, Clarke found inspiration for a new painting.

 

As she prepared a new canvas, her thoughts drifted to the events of her day. It had been quite a reprieve from her mourning. Her high school social life hadn't been quite so interesting since freshman year. How long would it last though?

 

Wells was gone. Her dad was gone. She had drifted apart from her mother after he had died. Who knew if Raven would stick around or if they would just get into another fight over something trivial. She was alone. She was always alone. It seemed like everyone important in her life always abandoned her. So far, Lexa had been uncharacteristically nice to her, but she wouldn't be surprised if the popular girl distanced herself from Clarke if she started getting teased by their classmates.

 

Clarke stopped painting and retreated to her bed, her eyes hot with tears. She wished her senior year would be over already, then maybe she could finally get away from everyone and everything that made her heart ache so much.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Clarke woke up late the following morning. She found that her mother had left her a new dress on her chair. It was one of the few ways she still attempted to connect with Clarke since she was out of the house working most of the time. It was lemon yellow with floral patterns. She threw it on in her rush to get ready for school on time.

 

Her bike ride to school made her feel like she was competing in the Tour de France. She just managed to get to class on time, huffing and out of breath as the bell rang when she walked in.

 

“Nice of you to make it on time, Ms. Griffin. Now, Let's begin...”

 

Clarke spent her morning classes focused on her work. She ignored her classmates' snide comments about her dress, some of them obviously dripping with envy.

 

She had texted Raven that they would be having lunch together at the art studio. By the time it was their usual lunch hour, Clarke hoped she would be able to slip into the cafeteria, buy her lunch without any trouble and leave.

 

After successfully purchasing some some spaghetti and meatballs, Clarke's hopes went up that she might be able to escape the cafeteria unscathed for once. She kept her eyes on the exit doors as she steadily made her way towards them.

 

Out of nowhere, Cage stepped into her path. “Nice dress, Griffin. You know what though, I think it would look better in red.”

 

He knocked her tray upwards, spilling the tomato sauce from her lunch all over her dress. Clarke gasped, and Cage cackled at his handiwork. Her feet reacted faster than her mind could, and she was rushing out of the cafeteria to the safety of the girls' bathroom before she knew it.

 

Clarke found herself alone, cleaning the mess of her dress as she thought about how she would explain the stains to her teachers and mother. She texted Raven about the predicament, who replied that she was being held up by her Decathalon coach.

 

Clarke found her tears welling up again, which she quickly held back when she heard someone else enter the bathroom.

 

“Clarke?”

 

That familiar voice was not the one she wanted hear at the moment. Clarke didn't want Lexa to see her in the state she was in.

 

“I saw what happened in the cafeteria...” Lexa's footsteps drew closer, but Clarke didn't want to look up.

 

She felt something being draped over her shoulders, which made her start in surprise.

 

“It's my varsity jacket. You can wear it for the rest of the day if you want.”

 

She glanced at her reflection in a bathroom mirror, the jacket looking out of place on her figure. Lexa's eyes were trained on her. Clarke's eyes darted away from making eye contact through the mirror.

 

“T-thank you, but you don't have to-”

 

One of Lexa's hands had wrapped around one of her own, cutting her off. Clarke found herself being led out of the bathroom.

 

Her heart was racing and she didn't know where they were going, but Clarke could only trust that Lexa was taking her somewhere safe.

 

They turned down a familiar hall before retreating to Clarke's safe haven, the art studio.

 

They sat down at a table next to each other before Lexa pulled out a sandwich from her bag. “I thought you might still be hungry.”

 

Clarke's stomach growled as if in response, and she gave in to her hunger, devouring the sandwich in haste as the end of their lunch hour approached. Lexa watched Clarke intently in silence as she ate, her face an unreadable mask.

 

Clarke could hardly taste what kind of sandwich she was eating, Lexa's eyes were much too distracting. She thought it had to be her imagination, but it seemed like Lexa was drawing closer and closer to her as she finished off the sandwich.

 

She gulped nervously, wondering what would be appropriate to say or do at this point.

 

Raven burst into the room at that moment, breaking the awkward silence.

 

“Clarke! Thank god, you're alright.” Raven rushed to her side, pausing only when she noticed Lexa's presence.

 

“Um, Raven this is Lexa,” Clarke introduced them, not sure why she found her cheeks heating up.

 

Lexa, calm and stoic as usual, nodded at the other girl in recognition before standing up. “I should go. I'll see you around, Clarke.”

 

After Lexa's retreating form disappeared out of earshot, Raven quipped about her, “Why so serious?”

 

Clarke simply shrugged.

 

“Is she _that_ Lexa, the one who practically knocked out Cage?”

 

Clarke nodded.

 

“The Lexa you're rumored to have a crush on?”

 

Clarke shot Raven an incredulous look.

 

“Is it true?” Raven inquired eagerly under her breath.

 

“Yes,” Clarke sighed, practically rolling her eyes.

 

“What a badass chick. At least I can see why you like her.”

 

* * *

 

 

There were more murmurs behind hands and furtive glances at the varsity jacket she was wearing for the rest of the afternoon. Clarke ignored them, still in a state of euphoria over her interaction with Lexa.

 

After school, she went home to put her dress in the washing machine and change into something clean. Lexa had texted her, asking for a favor. A junior on her softball team named Octavia would be cut from the team if she failed English this semester. Lexa had asked if she could tutor her. Kane regularly featured Clarke's essays on the school's bulletin board and she had even won a few academic awards for her writing. She finally felt like she could be of some use to Lexa and enthusiastically agreed.

 

Clarke hugged Lexa's varsity jacket to her as she prepared for their meeting at the library. It smelled faintly of Lexa's lavender shampoo. She was reluctant to return it, but it would rude not to. Perhaps she could use the excuse that it was still in the wash.

 

* * *

 

 

Lexa was late for their meeting. Clarke was considerably relieved and glad to see the athlete. She had been afraid that Lexa had simply bailed on her to make her finish the project on her own, but thankfully she had only been held up by Coach Indra making the team do extra laps.

 

It took them only an hour more to finish the project. Clarke was glad to have a partner who finally pitched in for once. She told Lexa how she felt.

 

“It's only right for two people to work on a partnered project together,” Lexa was incredibly matter-of fact about the situation.

 

“And we make great team!” Clarke tried show her enthusiasm, exchanging double high-fives with Lexa.

 

The two of them packed their things to leave.

 

Clarke had one more thing she wanted to ask Lexa though, “Why are you so nice to me?”

 

Despite her popularity, Lexa had always had the image of being reserved and serious. Some people, like Cage, even called her a “cold bitch” behind her back. For her to be so uncharacteristically nice to Clarke seemed out of character. It was almost like she was a completely different person when they were alone together.

 

“I'm only treating you the way you should be treated,” she replied solemnly, her walls coming up again as the two of them parted.

 

* * *

 

 

Octavia was a bubbly, gregarious girl with an attention span that seemed incapable of lasting longer than five minutes. Clarke had expected to spend most of her time tutoring the girl on her writing skills and reading comprehension, but instead she found that her main problem was getting her to stay focused.

 

On the plus side, she was a lot friendlier than most of the other girls at school and the two of them were getting along swimmingly.

 

Clarke pulled Octavia's attention back to _Catcher in the Rye_ for the umpteenth time after Octavia attempted to tell her a story about how she swore she saw glowing butterflies one time.

 

“Clarke, you're such a great tutor! I'm sure I'll be able to pass English this semester! You wouldn't happen to be good at math too? I'm worried about my upcoming midterm...”

 

“Well, I do know someone who would make a great math tutor.”

 

“Fantastic! Thank you so much. I owe you big time.”

 

As they wrapped up their tutoring session, Clarke gave Octavia Raven's contact details while the other girl continued her attempts to chat with her.

 

“Are you doing anything for Halloween, Clarke?”

 

“Probably just handing out candy.”

 

“This girl on my softball team is having a costume party and you should totally come!”

 

“I don't have a costume ready-”

 

“No problem! I could totally whip something up for you! And I'm totally dying to give you a makeover. You should bring Raven too! Oh, and Lexa will be there!”

 

Clarke was never invited parties and hearing that Lexa would be there made her heart flutter. She couldn't decline the invite.

 

She only hoped that whatever Octavia had planned for her would go over smoothly. Clarke didn't want to attract anymore unwanted negative attention to herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Clarke spent her Halloween morning cleaning up the mess of her house from Mischief Night. When she was done, she set out some candy for the trick-o-treaters before hopping on her bike to ride to Octavia's house.

 

It was a good twenty minute long ride to get there. Clarke enjoyed the time she had to think. The past week at school had been lively. She spent her school days dodging Cage and friends with Raven. They would hang out after school and Raven would always try to recruit Monty to the Academic Decathalon in new and creative ways. Clarke introduced Raven to Octavia, and they got along well just as they did with her.

 

She was glad to have some semblance of a social life, but what she looked forward to the most was her interactions with Lexa. They exchanged furtive glances at school and conversed through random text messages. Clarke shared her artwork and doodles, while Lexa would often tell her about softball.

 

Clarke was definitely looking forward to the Halloween Party and it was mainly because Lexa would be there.

 

When she got to Octavia's house, she was still cleaning its exterior with her brother, Bellamy. Clarke had almost forgotten that the two of them were siblings, but it made sense. They were both athletic and popular. She helped them clean up the remaining toilet paper covering the house.

 

Clarke had never really spoken to Bellamy before at school, even though they had shared classes together over the years. She always felt like she was invisible compared to him. He turned out to be just as friendly as Octavia. With how her social life was turning out, Clarke felt she might need reevaluate her opinion on the social dynamics of the student body.

 

Bellamy made them dinner while Octavia chatted animatedly about their life. Much to Clarke's surprise, Octavia shared that the two of them were foster siblings who had been in the system for many years before they had finally settled with the family they were currently living with. Their parents had passed away when they were young. They had also been the subject of much taunting and bullying throughout their childhood because they were foster children.

 

Clarke would have never guessed that they had such a dramatic backstory. The popular siblings seem to have an otherwise happy and perfect life on the surface. She wasn't the only person who had such problems after all.

 

After dinner, Bellamy took care of the dishes while Octavia hauled Clarke up to room for the makeover she had been dying to give to her. Octavia had modified a princess costume she had worn years ago for Clarke to wear to the party.

 

As someone who was never invited to high school parties, Clarke hardly had the know-how about doing hair and makeup. She usually went to the salon if special occasions called for it.

 

Although Octavia usually had the attention span of a fish, for the next hour she worked with laser-focus on Clarke's hair and makeup. When she was done, Clarke hardly recognized herself.

 

She usually simply did her hair in a messy bun to keep it out of the way when she painted and rarely wore any makeup. She was used to paint stains adorning her hands and clothes, but after Octavia had worked her magic, she looked clean and presentable. The makeup added a dramatic flair to her face and seemed to smooth over all her flaws. With the addition of Octavia's long blue ballroom gown and a tiara, she really felt like a princess.

 

Octavia went to work on her own outfit. The entire softball team was going with tribal themed costumes. Clarke helped her apply war paint and braid her hair.

 

Raven showed up right on time, still in her work clothes, grease stains and all.

 

“Raven, where is your costume?”

 

“I'm going as a mechanic! It's a great costume that's cheap and easy to wear!”

 

Clarke faceplamed and Octavia simply chided her, “You're never going to get laid in that outfit.”

 

“We'll see about that,” Raven locked Octavia in a death-glare.

 

“Ok,” Clarke broke the tension, “We probably should get going now.”

 

The four of them piled into Raven's car, Clarke's dress almost getting caught in the door, and headed off to the party.

 

The party had already started early by the time they got there. Clarke could feel the faint pounding of bass notes emanating from inside the house and teenagers spilled out onto the front lawn.

 

Octavia ran off to find her softball teammates while Raven, with Bellamy in tow, went off in search of the alcohol. Clarke was beginning to regret her costume choice, it made movement incredibly inconvenient. She would have followed Raven if not for the length of her dress.

 

“I see that the sky princess has graced us with her presence.”

 

Clarke turned to face the speaker. “Well, it's nice to see you too... Commander.”

 

Lexa stood before her with a gaggle of her softball friends who giggled at their banter. She was decked out in a tribal costume, complete with black war paint covering her eyes and a pauldron adorning her shoulder. She was clearly dressed as a tribal leader.

 

As the music changed to a more lively number, Lexa's friends flooded the dance space in the room. She extended a hand to Clarke. “Would you care for a dance?” she asked with an exaggerated flourish.

 

Clarke took her hand, “I would love to.”

 

She barely managed to not trip over her dress as she attempted and failed to dance to the electronic number. She was thankful when it was over and changed to a much slower song. She could still manage to waltz in her dress with Lexa.

 

“You look lovely.”

 

“Thank you. You do too,” Clarke felt a blush creep onto her cheeks.

 

Clarke enjoyed the silence between them as they danced together. Lexa's proximity to her was close enough that she feel the ebb and flow of her breath against her cheek. The physical contact of their hands was electrifying, and she almost didn't want the song to end. She was starting to break out into a sweat, and it wasn't because of the thickness of her dress.

 

Lexa went to fetch the two of them drinks after the song was over, leaving Clarke to wait for her with bated breath.

 

“Well, hello beautiful.”

 

It was a voice that made her blood run cold. A hand whirled her body around to face the speaker.

 

“Clarke Griffin! Who would have guessed! Boy do you clean up well,” Cage whistled, his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

 

“What are you doing here?” Clarke said the question like an insult.

 

“Crashing the party! Drinking some beer. What about you? Oh wait, let me guess, stalking your art muse and crush, Lexa!”

 

Clarke drew her breath in nervously as Cage approached her.

 

“Keep dreaming, Griffin. She's only using you,” he whispered in her ear before disappearing into the crowd.

 

Clarke suddenly felt sick. She needed to find Raven and Octavia. She clomped around the party clumsily before stumbling outside to the backyard after she spotted long brunette hair.

 

“Octavia-” she started, before noticing the younger girl's open mouthed expression staring in the opposite direction. Clarke followed her gaze, which fell upon Raven and Bellamy lip locked in an intense make out session.

 

“There you are!” Lexa's voice snapped her out of her surprised daze. “I was looking for you.”

 

Clarke suddenly felt dizzy and Lexa perceptively escorted her to an empty swing chair.

 

“Are you all right?”

 

“I-I don't know.” Clarke felt like she was looking at Lexa with new eyes.

 

Lexa stroked her back soothingly. It gave her goosebumps, even through the thick fabric of her dress.

 

“Lexa,” a feeling of dread filled Clarke's stomach. She knew she was broaching a subject that would probably ruin what little friendship they had formed so far. “I know I've asked you a question like this before, but why me? People like you don't associate with people like me at school.”

 

Lexa sucked in air contemplatively before answering, “I don't care about those things, Clarke. Social cliques and hierarchies aren't important to me. I've told you before, I treat you the way that I do because you-”

 

“But what's the real reason? What do you actually get out of spending time with someone like me? Karma points? Free tutoring and homework help? You don't have to deceive me if all you want is just to use me.”

 

“No! I don't want to use you. It's not like that, I just...” Lexa choked in explaining her reason.

 

Clarke eyed her, waiting for her to finish her sentence. Lexa's face turned red in the ensuing silence, her tongue tied.

 

“Fine then. I get it. Goodbye.” Clarke left the swing chair, heading for the front yard.

 

Lexa chased after her, trying to make up for her delayed reaction time.

 

“Where are you going, Clarke?” she called out desperately.

 

“Nowhere you need to know about.”

 

Lexa grabbed her by the arm and pulled Clarke to the side of the house with her.

 

Clarke flung her grip off her arm. “What do you want from me, Lexa?”

 

“Just let me explain-”

 

“What is there to explain?” Clarke crossed her arms.

 

“The reason that I've been talking to you...” Lexa was faltering again. She took a step closer to Clarke, “The reason that I've been spending time with you is because...”

 

Clarke sighed exasperatedly as Lexa choked on the key phrase she was trying to say.

 

“It's because...” she pressed a hand to Clarke's cheek.

 

“Just spit it out already!”

 

“It's because I like you.” Lexa took Clarke's lips with one bold swoop, catching the blonde off guard.

 

After recovering from her shock, Clarke shoved Lexa away from her, almost knocking the softball player off her feet.

 

“Clarke?”

 

Clarke stormed away from house, lifting up her dress as she broke into a run.

 

“Clarke, wait!” Lexa tripped over a misplaced garden gnome, scraping her hands on gravel.

 

“Please...” she pleaded weakly, her eyes hot with tears. For once, she knew that her athletic prowess wouldn't be enough to carry her to where she needed to be. She watched helplessly as Clarke's retreating form shrunk increasingly smaller with the growing distance between them.  


End file.
